


a little longer

by SilverMoonT



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Getting Together, M/M, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:49:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26650075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonT/pseuds/SilverMoonT
Summary: "And you?" Yahaba asks him, ignoring his words. "Do you like me?"He thinks it's certainly unfair, cornering Kyoutani like that when it's obvious that both of them have been hesitating for minutes since Kyoutani has asked him if he wants to stay. But he also believes, and is completely sure, that he doesn’t mind knowing that he is monopolizing Kyoutani’s personal space with the help of words when he has already done so with his arms and by slamming him into a wall many years ago.He gets used to doing it, Kyoutani too.
Relationships: Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru
Comments: 10
Kudos: 78





	a little longer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Andrateia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andrateia/gifts).



> Happy birthday Andra ❤

The piano playing in the background gets Yahaba to wrinkle his nose and a frown to take over his expression as the melody is not completely unfamiliar. He takes the blanket between his fingers and brings it to his face, unsuccessfully trying to get rid of that song that doesn’t stop playing. He knows it’s early as hiding under the blanket hasn’t stopped the sun from bathing his figure in natural light, and so he also knows why the environment is not decorated with pure silence in order to keep on sleeping.

A silent sigh makes its way past his lips as he hears footsteps.

"I hate your alarm." He declares, and it’s not the first time that those kind of words highlighted by a slightly irritated and sleepy tone of voice are the first to leave his mouth as soon as he gets up. He hears a slight laugh a few seconds before the music is turned off.

He feels the mattress sink yet he stays covered.

"Oh, sorry for trying to be responsible." If he had his eyes open, he would roll his eyes at the sarcasm decorating Kyoutani's words. Mentally, he's doing it. "Do you want me to change it?" He asks him, "What do you think of this one?"

Something similar to clubbing music begins to play.

Yahaba bites his lower lip and opts to finish covering his head with the blanket to stay completely under it. "Stop it."

"What about this one?"

The music sounds closer to his ear and Yahaba moves his hand without knowing what he is smacking so that Kyoutani moves away from him. "Stop it," He repeats, this time with the start of a laugh at the end.

Kyoutani laughs and the music finally stops. "I'll change my alarm if it bothers you so much, you can pick a rock and roll song, something super loud." He proposes, the beginning of a laugh threatening to escape his lips. "This is my second alarm, you never hear the first one."

A small smile caresses Yahaba's face even if he wants to roll his eyes at the irony of his words. "Don't." He says before settling on the side opposite to him in case Kyoutani decides to go back to see what new melody he wants to choose. "It doesn't matter anyway, it's not like I spend all my nights here, with you, so it's fine."

He clasps his hands under his cheek though he has a pillow under his head, but a slight punch near his lower back makes his frown, preventing him from falling back to sleep again. "Ouch." He adds.

He knows that Kyoutani carried out that action because his words irked him. But Kyoutani also knows that Yahaba is sincere, honest when sometimes it’s not necessary but also when the situation demands it. He tells the truth, many times he shouts brutal words, other times he whispers sincerity, but always, be it essential or not, authenticity is the guest of the harsh reality of his words. He thinks it's ironic, at least for that morning.

"Sleeping instead of me, how cruel." Kyoutani says.

And if Kyoutani knows, it's because he also knows how to deal with him.

At least most of the time.

Yahaba remembers all his schoolmates saying that he is the only person capable of getting Kyoutani to reconsider, to take a second to stop, think about his actions, and from that moment on decide to act under smart guides. But he believes that Kyoutani has the same effect on him.

"Alarm instead of me, how cruel." He says backs.

Most of the time people believe that Kyoutani combines the black eyeliner around his golden gaze with ferocity when it comes to speaking while Yahaba treats the people around him with the same care and delicacy with which he combs his silver locks every morning; but the reality is, that just as the warmest smile embraces Kyoutani's expression when he sees a dog, Yahaba knows the right moment to fake a smile free of all imperfections.

"I won't make you breakfast now."

Yahaba frowns and a yawn leaves his mouth.

"Are you going to make me breakfast?"

"Not now."

His eyes meet the blue color of the blanket once he finally allows his gaze to be seen. "Ugh." Kyoutani telling him he won’t make him breakfast just because he still knows how to provoke him with the help of his words, turns out to be unusual as Kyoutani tends to offer to make him the first meal of the day. He chooses to stay face down and then turn to the other side, and leaves his elbows on the mattress as the blanket slides down his back and he rubs his eyes. "Oh." He says once he blinks to find Kyoutani sitting next to him, looking at him with both eyebrows raised. "You should have told me that you are not wearing a shirt, I would have opened my eyes sooner."

Instead of being in boxers and a t-shirt like him, Kyoutani is shirtless and wearing the green pants of his pajamas.

Yahaba rests his chin on the palm of his hand and draws a lopsided smile while Kyoutani arches an eyebrow.

"I will ignore what you just said."

"I'm just appreciating your efforts as a volleyball player," Yahaba tells him before giving him a not-at-all-disguised look by lowering his eyes to his bare torso, touring the definition of his abs to then look at him again. "It's my job."

Kyoutani rolls his eyes but doesn't move.

"Well," He lets out a sigh, "If you want, you can eat breakfast later."

It's Yahaba's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Later?"

It’s not a _"Hurry up or I'll have breakfast alone"_.

That's new.

Kyoutani scratches the back of his neck as well as bites the inner part of his cheek. The blush that tints his cheeks prevents Yahaba from focusing on the movement of his bicep as the slight red color that now also decorates the tips of his ears turns out to be a far more interesting view to admire.

"You can stay."

"What?" Yahaba shakes off any trace of sleep by blinking several times.

Kyoutani shrugs. "You don't have to go just because I'm leaving early."

Yahaba bites his lower lip, a gesture so simple that despite being used to seeing him perform, once again Kyoutani chooses to watch after leaving his eyes on his mouth; until Yahaba tilts his head, and Kyoutani rolls his eyes because as he knows what feelings bloom when his lips meet his, it’s also enough for him to cast a glance at Yahaba to know that with the same mouth he can express inconvenient words.

"How do you know I won't steal you?" Yahaba asks him.

"What would you steal? My dog?"

"I could, but he wouldn't move."

"No, because he loves me more."

"Ugh."

Yahaba rolls his eyes before collapsing onto the bed and turning the other way.

He looks over his shoulder as Kyoutani gets up to leave the room, and rests his head back on the pillow before biting his lower lip. It's simple, actually, Kyoutani isn't proposing something crazy. It’s not the first time that he has spent the night in Kyoutani's apartment in the same way that Kyoutani already knows the color of the walls of his. Coming and going is normal as well as not kissing goodbye is a habit.

Yahaba is used to the bad repertoire of alarms as Kyoutani is aware of his judging gaze that appears at seven in the morning. The closeness exists as well as the distance, but the reality is that none of them complains because it was something that began without planning, without knowing what would happen next.

"Oof." Yahaba does complain when he feels something heavy on him, and raises his head to meet a brown chow chow that he knows very well, doesn’t like to move or waste energy unless it’s for food, which explains why Kyoutani has chosen to carry it from the living room onto Yahaba. "You're too heavy." Yahaba tries to move to stay on his back but the dog on him prevents him from doing so, and instead of helping him, he leaves his front paws on his shoulder to lick his face. "No, no." Yahaba strokes his fur, trying not to laugh. "No, not my hair."

The dog moves to continue licking him and it’s Kyoutani who laughs when he sees him frown, getting his dog to move his head towards him. Kyoutani opts to sit next to Yahaba and strokes the dog's head.

"Your hair is bad anyway." He tells Yahaba.

Yahaba rolls his eyes because he knows his morning hair is always a mess.

"You are one to talk, mister tennis ball."

Kyoutani forms a line with his lips as he hears his words, too used to listening to Yahaba express some phrase that between letters specifies that his hair dyed blonde with two black lines is perhaps not the best idea in case one wants to go unnoticed. The point is, though, that for Kyoutani is enough as long as the right person rests his interest in him.

The dog moves to stop being on top of Yahaba and thus remain on the opposite side of Kyoutani, so Yahaba turns towards him and leaves an elbow on the mattress as well as his cheek against the palm of his hand. "What do you say?" He asks the dog. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

He is considering the possibility, but the truth is that asking a dog that instead of responding, keeps moving his tongue when he scratches his fur, to answer a question for him is easier. Just as Kyoutani chooses to distinguish himself by an original yet unique haircut, Yahaba chooses to ask a dog a question knowing that there’s no chance that he will answer.

"You don’t have work today?" Kyoutani asks him.

"Later. You ask me to stay just to take care of your dog."

He says, but he believes that his words are a lie.

"No, I'm asking you because..." Yahaba turns around when he hears Kyoutani.

Kyoutani licks his lips because he knows that although Yahaba doesn’t lack confidence, he will never be able to think of himself the way he does, since Yahaba blinking and getting the light brown of his gaze to stare at him with no ulterior motives behind it, is enough for him to shrug instead of following the sentence the way he had thought.

To Yahaba frowning because sometimes yelling is not necessary to express frustration or indicate anger, that's what he's used to. To Yahaba in the middle of his covers, with his dog by his side, looking at him with expectation and curiosity accompanied by a bit of confusion, that's what he wants to get used to.

"Just do it if you want."

Yahaba can't blame him for not finishing the first sentence, since in the same way he still hasn't answered his question directly. He thinks they are used to behaving that way with each other, imitating, copying. Many times they express the truth while many others hesitate, because although they have known each other for a long time, this is not a volleyball court, it’s new territory and they have yet to decide if it’s a game or not.

"Do you remember when I didn't even stay for the night?" Yahaba chooses to ask him.

It wasn’t the same before, the routine was different.

See each other, kiss, spend the night, goodbye.

Yahaba didn’t stay for many hours to later wake up in his bed with only memories of the previous night while Kyoutani watched him leave in the middle of the night, with no stopping words that would make him stay. Now the actions have changed, Yahaba doesn’t rush and Kyoutani offers to make him breakfast. Whether it's okay or not, they don't know, but as long as both of them are equally comfortable with those decisions, then there's nothing to worry about.

"Not because I wouldn't let you, but because you're stubborn." Kyoutani assures him. Unlike most of the time, Yahaba can't contradict him because he's already forgotten how long Kyoutani has mentioned that he counts with that portrait. "Talking about the dog," He moves his hand to caress the dog, "He likes you."

Yahaba lowers his eyes because he knows that if he changes his position, since Kyoutani has passed his arm over him to be able to pet his dog, then he will establish physical contact between the two, and for the same reason at that time he doesn’t hesitate to move sit on the bed, looking back at Kyoutani when, indeed, his arm brushes his waist. Kyoutani looks at him and chooses to rest his hand on his waist.

"You did that on purpose."

"And you?" Yahaba asks him, ignoring his words. "Do you like me?"

He thinks it's certainly unfair, cornering Kyoutani like that when it's obvious that both of them have been hesitating for minutes since Kyoutani has asked him if he wants to stay. But he also believes, and is completely sure, that he doesn’t mind knowing that he is monopolizing Kyoutani’s personal space with the help of words when he has already done so with his arms and by slamming him into a wall many years ago.

He gets used to doing it, Kyoutani too.

So instead of leaning back, Kyoutani passes his hand under the fabric of his shirt because Yahaba is Yahaba and, _"I'll take my own pajamas, Kyoutani, surely yours won’t fit me because the years go by but you're still shorter than me"_ , and his fingers find the softness of his skin. Yahaba keeps the palms of his hands on the mattress and his fingers sink into it. The reality is, if Yahaba can corner Kyoutani, it’s because Kyoutani can do the same with him.

Kyoutani takes advantage of the fact that he already has a hand on him to wrap both arms around his waist and draw him towards him, getting Yahaba’s palms to find his chest and their mouths to share a fairly close distance. Yahaba bites his lower lip and Kyoutani observes that gesture.

"You complain about my alarms..." He sees the moment in which Yahaba’s personal brand turns into a playful smile, but then he prohibits himself from keep on doing so after moving his head to be able to leave a kiss on his neck. "Sometimes you pay more attention to my dog than to me although I can't blame you for that." His dog barks when he hears him and his laugh finds Yahaba's skin. "You are stubborn..."

Yahaba stops keeping one of his palms on his chest to surround his neck with his arm. "Be careful with what you say."

"But you also keep me from waking up in a bad mood..." Kyoutani moves his head to place a kiss on his jaw. "I have company some nights..." He caresses his lower back, "And Koganegawa pesters me since I told him that we still see each other." He adds, finally straightening up with both eyebrows raised.

A laugh leaves Yahaba's lips. "Really?" He asks, moving his other arm so he can wrap both around his neck. "And what did you say?"

"Oh, you know, ‘Don't you keep talking to the people you went to school with seven years ago?’" Yahaba laughs. Kyoutani smiles. "I told him we still see each other, that we keep in touch."

"In touch." Yahaba repeats on his lips.

Kyoutani forces himself not to kiss him, and looks at him.

"Tell me, how do you want me to answer your question?"

"I don't know... with honesty."

"And what do I get in return?"

Yahaba knows it's only fair that he's sincere too. "Maybe honesty, too."

A part of Kyoutani doesn't know how to lie, not after knowing firsthand what screaming the truth does to his body. He understands Yahaba because he also knows how to exclaim, what feelings hide behind the action of shouting; what kind of sensations lead one to have no other escape but to yell. As sometimes the goal is to achieve the attention of a whole rostrum so that your last name is exclaimed with pride and strength, many other times it's not about expecting to be the person under the spotlight, but about getting the only person you consider important to be able to listen to you.

"Well," Kyoutani lets out a sigh. "Then I will say that I don’t regret this." The gold of his eyes doesn’t lose sight of Yahaba's brown. "And if I offer you to stay, it's because I like it when you're here and that you feel comfortable here," He says, since he had offered him to stay the rest of the day while he's gone because he wants to believe that Yahaba thinks of his apartment and in him as a refuge where he can be his true self. "And because I trust you."

"You trust me?"

"I've been doing it since you were my setter, I don't think I had a choice, don't you think?"

Yahaba tilts his head and Kyoutani smiles because he knows he's right.

He had no choice but to learn to trust Yahaba both as his setter and as his captain, and therefore also his teammate. It’s true that many years have passed and Kyoutani is the only one of the two that keeps playing volleyball, but that doesn’t take away that their last year of school had forced them to talk, to look at each other carefully, to trust each other because without trust there is no team, and without a team, there is no volleyball.

"Your turn." Kyoutani adds, because trust also means reciprocity.

Yahaba thinks it's a waste of time to lie, he doesn't want to.

"Well, if I have to be completely honest..." Yahaba licks his lips. "Your dog licks my hair like it’s food..." Yahaba turns to see the animal and the dog tilts its head, making him smile despite the words spoken. "But at least he doesn't eat my clothes." The dog barks and Yahaba laughs before turning around again. "With you I feel that waking up early is not so terrible and maybe, just maybe, your alarm songs aren't that bad..." Kyoutani raises both eyebrows on purpose. Yahaba roll his eyes. "I don't spend all my nights alone, and you get me to laugh because Koganegawa asks you questions about me." It's Yahaba's turn to laugh and Kyoutani's turn to roll his eyes. "I don't regret this." He assures him. "And I trust you."

"You trust me?"

"I've been doing it since you were my ace, I don't think I had a choice, don't you think?"

Without a setter, an ace can’t give importance to its title in the same way that a setter’s tosses can’t shine without an ace. Compliance is reciprocal as well as mutual effort. If there is no communication, there are no points, and without trust, the numbers indicating the result of the match will not change. Both he and Kyoutani had learned —and continue to learn— that trust is not an option but a need, a mutual demand.

"Look, I know that between us... what there is... I don't think anyone can understand it." Kyoutani tells him, and Yahaba agrees because only a few years ago, some people would have thought it impossible for the two of them to be in that way at that moment, staying close with the help of their arms and talking to themselves instead of yelling at each other. "Except for the two of us." Except for the two of them. "So we should go at our own pace and so forth, and if the next step is to offer you to stay at my house with my dog while I'm gone, that's fine by me. Big or small steps, as long as we both agree, I think that's fine."

Yahaba believes that he certainly considers himself lucky.

Kyoutani has seen the worst in him. Whether related to volleyball, or not.

He has seen him sad, angry, frustrated, with his silver locks pointing everywhere. He is able to confront his explosive personality as well as deal with the fakeness that many times characterizes him when his personal honesty takes a break from him. As Kyoutani has said, they have no specific rhythm and only they decide how much the questions they ask each other can mean.

In the same way, he has also seen the worst in Kyoutani.

Many other times he awakens the worst in Kyoutani as well as Kyoutani with him.

But many other times, the best.

Yahaba holds his chin up and arches an eyebrow.

"Okay, I'll stay today." He finally decides to accept.

Staying that day doesn’t mean a one-time thing.

"But the next time I come here, I'll ask for a day off, you will ask for a day off, and we'll both stay here." His words are interrupted by a bark and both Yahaba and Kyoutani laugh. "And your dog too. Do you like the idea?"

Kyoutani stops keeping his arms around his waist so he can rest his hands on his cheeks. A smile appears on his face as Yahaba leans into contact and they continue looking at each other.

"I like you." He finally answers.

It's kind of crazy. The relationship hadn’t started well at all between them. Too explosive, too much screaming. Bumping shoulders on purpose and looks of disdain. They had needed Yahaba to grab him by the collar and corner him against a wall so that they would both finally think of each other differently. Kyoutani understood that Yahaba doesn’t hide while Yahaba learned that Kyoutani is more than a frown and an irritable desire to play volleyball. Their last year of school forced them to understand each other, to listen to each other both as teammates and volleyball players, as captain and wing spiker, as setter and ace.

And it had been enough that those people they had admired so much —and continue to admire— met again for them to do so, because just as Iwaizumi and Oikawa had faced each other, finding themselves being part of different teams and in different ways, Yahaba, with flags of Argentina decorating his cheeks, had written _"Surely you are cheering for Iwaizumi-san."_

_"And you Oikawa."_ Kyoutani had responded.

Months, nights, conversations, laughter.

Kisses, caresses.

They meet again, again and again. They change, they grow, they keep learning.

"I like you too." Yahaba assures him.

A melody interrupts them and Kyoutani exhales a breath while Yahaba forms a line with his lips to avoid laughing although he only manages to retain it for a few seconds. "Hey, I think you are late," He adds above the third alarm, but his surprised expression is the one that really beats the tune when Kyoutani stops keeping his hands on his cheeks to get Yahaba's back to touch the mattress and he to be on top of him.

"Damn alarm, it didn't work." Kyoutani wrinkles his nose, not really believing his words.

Yahaba laughs and again wraps his arms around Kyoutani's neck.

"Blessed alarm, because we talked."

"Oh, then I'll set more."

"Don’t you dare."

Kyoutani allows a big smile to decorate his face before lowering his gaze to Yahaba's lips, but although he leans down with the intention of kissing him, apparently his dog has the same intention because he interrupts them by moving and preventing them from kissing. Kyoutani laughs and so does Yahaba. They can't complain, it seems like they just agreed to have a lot more opportunities to kiss.


End file.
